


Like A Tattoo On My Heart

by orphan_account



Category: South Park
Genre: Implied Sexual Content, M/M, this is fluffy as hell
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-31
Updated: 2017-03-31
Packaged: 2018-10-13 02:55:06
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,874
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10504953
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Kenny is endlessly confident when it comes to sex. His crush on Butters, on the other hand? That's another matter entirely.





	

"Dude, this is fucking retarded!" Kyle Broflovski exclaimed, surveying the latest addition to his high school's bulletin board. 

The pink sign was printed in class president Wendy Testaburger's distinctly prim handwriting and boasted proudly of the upcoming Halloween dance. While most students were looking forward to the celebration, Kyle thought it was totally corny. 

"What don't you like about it?" Wendy asked, sounding dejected. 

"Come on!" Kyle cried almost pleadingly, and as though the transgression made was obvious. "We're not ten anymore, Wendy! We're seventeen!" 

"And that means we're no longer capable of having fun?" Wendy retorted, frowning. 

"Themed dances are totally lame, dude!" Kyle exclaimed insistently. 

"Are you serious?" Cartman cried, taken aback. "If you think we aren't going to this dance, you're fucking insane!" 

Kyle crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow at his boyfriend disapprovingly. 

"You can't tell me what to do, fatass!" He retorted. 

Stan and Kenny side eyed each other, anticipating an argument. Not that trouble in this particular paradise was any anomaly. With these two, it was nothing but par for the course. 

"Kyle, babe, you know there's gonna be a costume contest at this dance, right?" Cartman revealed, grinning hopefully. Kyle looked absolutely baffled, lips quirking to the side in utter confusion. 

"So what?" 

"This is your chance at redemption! From when that bitch Wendy stole the competition from you with that dumbass Chewbacca mask!" Cartman exclaimed, exasperated. 

Kyle gasped as he recalled the day in question, looking like a war hero experiencing some horrific flashback. Wendy rolled her eyes. 

"I highly doubt that Kyle is still holding a grudge over that." She said, confident in her words. "He isn't that petty." 

"You're right!" Kyle agreed with enthusiasm, ignoring Wendy's words completely. "I deserved first place!" 

"Oh my god!" Wendy said, throwing both hands up in exasperation and storming off." 

"You did deserve that title, Kyle! And this time justice will be served when we wow everyone with our magnificent couple's costume!" Cartman said, placing his hands on Kyle's shoulders. 

"Dude, a couple's costume?" Stan scoffed in disbelief. The Raggedy Andy incident had left the idea ruined to him. 

"Yeah, that's pretty gay." Kenny agreed with a laugh. Kyle seemed to endure an internal struggle between his dignity and his competitive spirit. 

"You're one to talk!" Cartman sneered, wrapping an arm around his boyfriend and pulling him close. 

"What's that supposed to mean?" Kenny asked, playing dumb and hoping his cheeks weren't too red. 

"He's right, Ken." Stan admitted with a smile. "Are you gonna ask Butters to the dance?" 

Kenny wrinkled his nose in embarrassment, turning his head as to hide the quickly deepening blush. Sometimes he regretted telling his friends about his stupid crush on Butters. In his opinion, whole thing was humiliating. Kenny was known for his sexual deviance and casual delinquency, and Butters Stotch was the biggest virgin in town. It wasn't Kenny's fault if he was also cute as hell. 

"What do you think?" Kenny asked sarcastically. He could barely muster the courage to smile at his crush in math class, much less ask him to any dance. 

"Don't be an idiot, Kenny. Butters totally wants your dick in his tight little ass." Cartman insisted with a dismissive wave of his hand. 

"I don't know if I would have put it quite like that." Kyle said, cringing a little at his boyfriend's vulgarity. "But Cartman's right. Butters definitely likes you back!" 

"Whatever, you guys." Kenny replied, mortified by the conversation. He pulled up the hood of his jacket, successfully terminating the conversation. 

••••

"Ken, do you still have that tattoo gun?" Butters asked, sitting cross legged on Kenny's bed and removing Karen's bows from his hair. 

"Uh, what?" Kenny asked distractedly, looking up from his phone. 

"Remember when you got that tattoo gun over the summer?" Butters reminded him. "And you offered to give me one?" 

The tattoo gun was something gifted to Kenny by one of his dad's friends last Christmas. The guy seemed to think Kenny had a knack for drawing, if only based on the sketches he'd seen in the corners of math tests and science homework. 

Kenny had come to see himself as nothing but a deadbeat junkie, and the implication that he might have potential to be something more came as a surprise. The things he doodled were often more manifestations of heartache than anything else, but faith in his ability was appreciated nonetheless. 

"Oh! Yeah, I remember." Kenny said, shaking his head a bit as if to clear it. "Did you change your mind or something?"

He was mostly joking, not really expecting the other boy to give in to his peer pressure. Kenny wasn't half bad at tattoos, but that didn't change the fact that Butters was deathly afraid of needles. 

"Yeah, I changed my mind." Butters said shyly. "I'd like you to give me a tattoo after all." 

Kenny did a double take, eyes widening. That kind of daring was brazenly out of character, and not at all something his parent's would approve of. Stephen Stotch was always made of hard edges and abrasive words, but his son was soft and warm. Kenny could never understand how Butters survived under the harsh conditions of his bringing up. 

"Won't that upset your dad, Buttercup?" Kenny asked, concerned. 

"Oh, what my dad doesn't know won't hurt him!" Butters argued, pouting. 

Every once in a while, a hint of brash cynicism was visible beneath his angelic exterior. It only made sense, Kenny supposed. No one could grow up in South Park and leave with rose tinted glasses unscathed. 

"What were you thinking of getting?" Kenny asked with a kind smile. Butters looked nervous now, evidently apprehensive about his big decision. 

"A daisy, I think?" He said, inflection turning upwards with patent reluctance. "Just a little one!" 

Kenny's smile widened and he crawled nearer to his bed, reaching beneath. He pulled the tattoo gun from its hiding spot and waved in the air. 

"Where did you want it?" He asked. 

"I was thinking on my shoulder blade? Maybe?" 

Jesus Christ, wasn't that just Kenny's luck? Of course Butters would need to take his shirt off while alone with Kenny on his bed. Of fucking course. 

"Sure thing, dude." Kenny said, pulling himself onto the bed. "Can you take off your shirt?" 

"Oh!" Butters cried, as though the thought hadn't occurred to him. He hurried to remove his shirt, and in doing so got it stuck over his head. Kenny chuckled and leaned forward to help. He had often imagined taking this boy's clothes off, though his fantasies usually went in a different direction. 

"How big do you want this?" Kenny asked, already poised to begin. Butters pinched the air between thumb and forefinger, indicating a very small space. Kenny nodded. This rebellion against his father was small but mighty. 

"I just want a real little one!" Butters insisted, rubbing his knuckles together. "Promise you won't make it any bigger, okay?" 

"Of course." Kenny assured him, staring at the beautiful way the blades of his shoulders shifted. Butters' frame was small and a little chubby, but Kenny wasn't at all bothered by the slight pudge on his stomach. Instead he found himself enthralled, resisting the urge to touch. 

"You can start now, Ken." Butters said, releasing a breath of air he'd been holding. Kenny did as he was told, pricking the other boy's skin as gently as he could. 

Butters hissed with pain but remained still, allowing Kenny to continue. 

"Who else have you done this to?" He asked, hoping to distract himself from the poking sensation. 

"Well, I wasn't supposed to tell anyone about it." Kenny confessed. "But Tweek and Craig got matching ones back in August." 

"Did they really?" Butters asked, amazed. To him, that was just about the most romantic thing imaginable. 

"Yeah. Just two little hearts on their ankles, though. Nothing special." 

"You don't think so, Kenny?" Butters wondered, already having forgotten the pain. "They must really love each other if they're willing to make that kind of commitment." 

"I guess you're right. Have you ever felt that strongly about someone?" Kenny blurted out without thinking. 

Butters' entire body seemed to blush. 

"I think so." He admitted. "Have you?" 

Kenny thought for a moment. Yeah, he decided. Butters was definitely worth getting your skin carved into for. 

"I think so too." He said simply, praying he wouldn't be pressed any further. Butters only hummed in understanding, letting Kenny's revelation stir for a second in heavy silence. 

"What about Eric and Kyle?" Butters asked then. 

"What about them?" 

"Do you think they'd get tattoos for each other?" He asked, sincere as ever. 

Kenny laughed a little at the question about their mutual friends. 

"If Kyle asked, I'm sure Cartman would get the entire Torah on his forehead." Kenny said honestly. "It's not really their style, though." 

"I guess that's true." Butters agreed, and Kenny moved his steady hand from off his shoulder. "Eric talks about him all the time, you know." 

"Yeah?" Kenny replied. "I'm glad to hear that. I worry about those two sometimes." 

"How come?" 

"Do you even have to ask? Cartman and Kyle are fucking crazy. Putting them together is like a disaster waiting to happen." 

"I've never heard anyone say that about Kyle before." Butters pointed out thoughtfully. "Everyone just talks about how strange it is that he sunk so low. By being Eric's boyfriend, I mean." 

"Nah, they deserve each other." Kenny disagreed. 

"I think you might be right about that one." Butters said with a giggle. "Truth be told, I think they're both a couple of a-assholes." 

Kenny moved the stick and poke gun from Butters' back and laughed. 

"I've gotta say, Butters, I wholeheartedly agree." 

"But Kyle and Eric are your friends, aren't they?" Butters clarified, confused. 

"That doesn't mean I don't see them for what they are. Most people in this town are selfish dicks, if I'm being totally honest." Kenny said with a shrug. 

"Do you think I'm a selfish dick, Kenny?" Butters asked, sounding genuinely hurt. 

"No way!" Kenny assured him. "You're what I'd call an exception to the rule." 

Though he had his back turned, Kenny had to assume Butters was grinning. 

"You mean it?" He asked. 

"With all of my heart." Kenny replied, feeling all at once vulnerable. 

"That's real nice of you." Butters continued. And then, without warning that the subject was changing, "When will you be finished?" 

"Just give me one second." Kenny said, adding a couple finishing touches. He looked proudly at his handiwork. "Okay, I think I'm done!" 

"Already? Does it look good?" Butters asked anxiously, childlike excitement in his tone. 

"If I do say so myself." 

Kenny moved to trace the ink on Butters' skin but thought better of it, fearing it would sting. Instead he brushed blank skin with his fingertips, gently teasing at his shoulder blades. 

Butters shivered at his touch, letting out a gasp that bordered on sexual. Kenny jerked his hand away in alarm, the sweet sound going straight to his groin. 

"Don't mind me, Ken!" Butters apologized, turning to face him in panic. "My skin's just a little sensitive, is all." 

Kenny nodded wordlessly, watching as Butters pulled his shirt back on. He seemed embarrassed, rushing to stand from the bed. He stumbled a little as he stood, slipping into his sneakers. 

"Leaving so soon?" Kenny asked, disappointed. 

"My dad will be real sore if I miss dinner." Butters exclaimed, seeming remorseful. 

"See you tomorrow, Buttercup." Kenny said affectionately, frowning. As he listened to his friend's retreating footsteps, Kenny couldn't help but feel the slightest bit lonely. 

••••

"I just don't understand what the big deal is!" Stan said, rolling his eyes. 

The boys were sitting in Cartman's basement listening to Kenny's latest ramblings and growing quickly bored with the subject at hand. It seemed to them that when it came to Butters, Kenny was making a big deal out of nothing. 

"Stan!" Kenny cried, running a hand through his hair. "The big deal is that I'm in love with Butters and I don't know what to do about it!" 

Cartman groaned, leaning into his boyfriend's chest. He was sitting on the floor in between Kyle's legs and barely managing to fight off sleep for long enough to focus on Kenny's words. 

"Just fucking tell him!" He shouted in unnecessary frustration. "Or don't. I don't care, just shut up about it already!" 

"Stop it, Cartman." Kyle scolded, still toying with his boyfriend's messy hair. 

"He's right, though!" Stan agreed. "When you've slept with half the girls in our grade, what in the hell is so scary about Butters?" 

Kenny sighed, struck suddenly by just how much his friends didn't get it. 

"Butters isn't one of them, Stan!" He exclaimed, both fists clenched at his side. "This is, like, a totally different thing!" 

"Different how?" Kyle asked, resting his chin on the top of Cartman's head. 

"Because it isn't just about sex!" Kenny tried desperately to explain.

He was never the kind of exquisite wordsmith that Kyle could be, but he felt it necessary to translate his feelings into this admittedly clumsy articulation. Butters wasn't just an object of lust, but rather the last scrap of hope in a place where even good things were distorted past the point of recognition. 

"So you're saying you don't want to fuck him?" Cartman asked, skeptical. 

"Is that what I said?" Kenny asked, becoming increasingly vexed. 

"I think what Kenny means is that he wants Butters to be his boyfriend." Kyle volunteered, smirking. Kenny blushed, but nodded furiously. "And he's afraid to talk to him about it because he doesn't want to ruin anything." 

"Kenny, my man, I'm gonna be straight with you." Cartman began, sitting up and gesturing with one hand. 

"I didn't know you were capable of being straight with anyone." Kyle quipped, appearing thoroughly amused with his own joke. 

"Shut up, Je-I mean, uh, loser." Cartman replied, catching himself. Kyle nodded in approval. 

Any use of the word "Jew" as a derogatory term had been strictly prohibited by Kyle since their relationship began. The consequence of any slip up was a sex strike that could last for up to a month. 

"What is it, dude?" Kenny asked curiously. Cartman glanced to either side, pausing for dramatic effect before he spoke. 

"Butters is fucking crazy about you, dude." He said, smug smile on his face as he spoke. 

"How would you know, fatass?" Kenny asked. Cartman looked almost offended. 

"What is that supposed to mean? The kid tells me everything!" He exclaimed. Oddly enough, that was true. For whatever reason, Cartman and Butters had maintained a strange sort of friendship throughout the years. 

"And he told you that he's 'crazy' about Kenny?" Stan inquired. 

"Well, not exactly." Cartman admitted. "But I can read between the lines?" 

"And between the lines it says that Butters is in love with me?" Kenny asked, heart racing now despite himself. 

"'Oh geez, Eric!'" Cartman cried in a high pitched southern twang. "'Isn't Kenny just the greatest?'" 

Stan laughed, stifling the sound with the back of his hand. 

"He seriously says stuff like that?" Kenny asked. 

"All the goddamn time." Cartman confirmed with a sharp nod. 

Kenny's face contorted in confusion, grappling with his natural inclination to believe Cartman was lying and the soft spot he had when it came to Butters. 

"I think you're selling yourself a little short here, Ken." Kyle said gently, smiling. Kenny shrugged, still thinking fondly of Butters soft skin and endearing manner. 

••••  
"Are you gonna wear your old Mysterion costume?" Butters asked, leaning up against a water fountain. 

Kenny was staring intensely at a poster for the Halloween dance, the expression on his face almost grim. 

"Only if Professor Chaos comes too." He replied now with a toothy grin. Butters didn't seem to catch the joke. 

"Oh man, I really don't think that costume would fit me anymore!" He cried, earnestly apologetic. Kenny chuckled kindly. 

"I don't think I'm gonna be going to the dance anyway, dude." He said. 

"Why not?" Butters asked, clearly upset. 

"Those things are always so fucking dumb." Kenny said simply, surprised by Butters' reaction. 

"I think they're real fun, Kenny!" Butters argued, slumping. "But not if you aren't there to hang out with." 

"You really want me there that badly?" Kenny asked, touched. 

"Of course!" 

"Well I wouldn't want to be to blame for my favorite boy being upset, now would I?" Kenny teased, ruffling Butters' mess of blonde hair. 

Butters became flustered, cheeks turning pink. 

"Am I really your favorite?" He asked, eyes wide. 

"I'd say so, yeah." 

Butters smiled, scratching the back of his neck. 

"Kenny?" 

"Yeah, Butters?" 

"Save a dance for me tonight." He said with a rare confidence before turning to walk away, leaving Kenny alone with his wide open mouth. 

••••

Kenny didn't wind up wearing a costume to the dance, instead putting on his nicest jeans and a tightly fitting tshirt. Karen combed his hair excitedly, babbling the whole time. 

Now Kenny stood in the gym of his high school, watching as Cartman fawned over his boyfriend. The couple was, as promised, dressed in matching costumes. Cartman donned devil horns and Kyle reluctantly wore a pair of angel wings and a halo. 

"Kyle, sweetheart, baby, love of my life!" Cartman said, reaching over for kisses. "Don't be mad at me!" 

"I can't believe I let you talk me into this." Kyle mumbled sheepishly, crossing his arms. 

"I love you sooo much!" Cartman replied, wrapping his arm's tightly around Kyle's shoulders. Kyle rolled his eyes, squirming away embarrassedly. 

"Aw baby!" Cartman exclaimed. "Don't be embarrassed!" 

"How can I not be?" Kyle hissed, eyes ablaze with muted fury. "I look ridiculous!" 

Cartman gasped in faux shock, placing his palms on both cheeks. 

"You could never, Kyle!" He assured him. "You look just like a real live angel descended from heaven!" 

Kyle finally relented, relaxing under Cartman's grip and allowing himself to be kissed. Cartman looked pleased, smiling. 

"Now tell me you love me." He added. Kyle rolled his eyes once more and sighed. 

"I love you." He muttered, blushing. Kenny look on, amused at the antics of his childhood friends. 

"It could be a lot worse, Kyle." Kenny said. 

"Yeah." Stan agreed. "Cartman wanted them to be the Joker and Harley Quinn." 

"Where's your boyfriend, Kenny?" Kyle asked as the others laughed, trying to get himself out of the spotlight. 

"I wish I knew, dude." Kenny sighed, shoving his hands into the pockets of his jeans. 

An obnoxiously upbeat song began to blare from the speakers then, and Cartman gasped. 

"Oh, hell yes!" He cried, grabbing Kyle's hand. "Come on, baby!" 

Kyle groaned as he was dragged to the dance floor by his overzealous boyfriend. Kenny watched them go for a moment, before Stan shook him by the arm. 

"Dude, look!" He whispered, gesturing toward the gym's double doors. 

Butters stood before them, washed in the harsh overhead lights but looking as lovely as he ever did and even more. 

"Holy shit." Kenny muttered, and Stan laughed in disbelief. 

Butters was clad in bunny ears, a cotton ball tail, and the shortest shorts Kenny had ever seen. Almost of their own accord, Kenny's legs made a beeline to the smaller boy. 

"Hi, Kenny!" Butters greeted, smiling. "You look real handsome!" 

"Fuck, dude." Kenny gasped, in far too deep to care how dumb he may have sounded. "You look hot as hell." 

Butters grinned shyly, glad his blush wasn't visible. Something about the room's atmosphere made saying these things not so scary. 

"Want to see my tattoo?" Butters asked suddenly, grabbing Kenny by the wrist. "I think you did a really great job." 

"Yeah, sure!" Kenny said breathlessly, following behind as Butters raced to the bathroom. 

As they pushed open the bathroom door, Kenny's dress shoes slid noisily on the gray tile. He kept himself from falling by gripping the wall, and looked up to see that he and Butters weren't alone. 

Craig Tucker had Tweek pressed against and sink and was nibbling unabashedly at his neck. 

"Oh, gross!" Kenny cried, just to annoy his friends. The boys scrambled apart, Tweek hurriedly zipping up his jeans. 

"Fuck you, McCormick!" Craig said simply, irritated that his activities had been put to an abrupt end. 

Kenny smirked and looked pointedly at the couple, hoping they'd get the hint. Tweek's eyes lit up with recognition and he grinned. 

"Let's go dance, Craig." Tweek suggested, already walking towards the door. 

"Dude, what?" Craig asked incredulously, following his boyfriend out of the room. "Fucking weak!" 

Butters laughed as he watched them go, beginning to feel a little nervous about being alone with Kenny. 

"So?" Kenny began. "Let's see." 

"Oh!" Butters said, turning around. He pulled the top of his shirt down, revealing the small patch of ink. 

"Not half bad." Kenny said, staring somewhat admiringly. Butters whipped around swiftly, meeting Kenny's eyes. 

"I really appreciate you doing that for me, Ken." He said, voice just barely there. 

"My pleasure, dude." Kenny said, voice just as soft. 

Butters leaned in then, and pressed his quivering lips against Kenny's own. Kenny returned the kiss immediately, depending the contact with raw passion. He brought his hands to Butters' hair, thankful beyond belief for all the practice he had. Every romantic encounter he'd experienced in the past seemed but prerequisite to this moment. After just a few seconds, Butters pulled away. 

"I really like you, Kenny." He whispered. "Don't let me become just another one of your sex toys, okay?" 

Kenny shook his head fiercely, struck with an obscure guilt. 

"Never." He whispered in return. Butters smiled. "I've been in love with you since the eighth grade. When you danced at the talent show, remember?" 

"Oh god!" Butters said, cringing. "I looked like such an idiot!" 

"Nah." Kenny said honestly. "You were adorable." 

"Well I loved you since all the way back to your Mysterion days." Butters confessed. 

"Even when I was kicking your ass?" 

"Especially then." 

Kenny laughed, bringing a hand to Butters' cheek and kissing him again, chaste and sweet. 

"Did you wear that skimpy ass costume specifically to drive me insane?" He wondered aloud after pulling back. 

"Pretty much." Butters giggled, covering his smile with one hand. 

"It worked." Kenny said, looking over his body. The smaller boy's legs were surprisingly toned, and absolutely made for shorts of that length. "Cartman and Kyle are gonna tear you apart, though." 

"What?" Butters asked, startled. 

"There's no way they'll win the costume contest with you looking like that." Kenny explained teasingly. 

"Kenny!" Butters exclaimed, shoving his chest. 

"Buttercup, how much do you really like these dances?" Kenny asked, fiddling with the edge of Butters' shirt. 

"Why do you ask?" 

"I kind of wanna take you back to my bedroom and never come back out again." Kenny admitted with a smirk.

Butters looked scandalized, blushing wildly. 

"You don't like my plan?" Kenny asked, disguising disappointment. 

"I didn't say that..." Butters responded, the color in his cheek darkening. 

As Kenny laughed, he couldn't for the life of him remember what it was about this boy that had him so afraid.


End file.
